Last Day to Register for Kiiko Matsumoto at the 34th Annual AAC Conference is Sunday, April 16th!

Stephanie Shober

Kiiko Matsumoto

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with more than 120 of your colleagues April 22nd - 23rd as we learn from world-renowned acupuncturist Kiiko Matsumoto. There are so many reasons to join in:

• The AAC is offering member registration fees at a steep discount compared to standard Kiiko Matsumoto classes. Our member regular rate is $300 where normal rates to learn from Kiiko range between $365 - $419!
• OR save even more money by registering with a friend. The Buy One Get One Half Price offer means getting 14 NCCAOM approved PDAs from this TCM master for only $225 apiece!
• The 2017 Exhibitor Hall has more Exhibitors than ever! Come see the latest TCM tools, technology, supplies and resources from eighteen organizations.
• AND, we have a game this year: Any attendee who visits every Exhibitor booth will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE CASE OF SEIRIN NEEDLES - a $100 value!
• Our venue, the beautiful Marriott Westminster, has a fresh farm to table kitchen. Each day attendees enjoy a complimentary, delicious soup and salad bar luncheon.
• Saturday Evening's Complimentary Wine and Beer Reception will be just as big a hit this year as it was last year!
• Dr. Dave's is back! Have fun bidding on several different Dr. Dave's tinctures at the Silent Auction table.

We are so excited for this conference, which will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with peers, get energized and learn amazing things. We will also be holding elections for the board of directors at our annual meeting on Saturday (see article below). I look forward to seeing you all there!

Kind regards,
Stephanie Shober, L.Ac., Dipl. OM
Conference Chair, AAC Board of Directors
conferencecomm@acucol.com
(303) 471-9355

Message from the President: Dry Needling, Injection Therapy, ASA National Organization

Dear members, friends and supporters:

Dry Needling Update: As we expected, last month the State Physical Therapy Board moved to dismiss the case we filed in February on procedural grounds and is doing everything possible to avoid a substantive ruling from the court on whether dry needling is within the statutory scope of physical therapy as defined by the Legislature. Just this week the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) also filed documents asking to intervene in the case and filed a proposed procedural motion of their own to dismiss the case. AAC’s legal team filed a great brief this week opposing the motion to dismiss the case and will continue working hard to get a court ruling on the substance of whether the Colorado Legislature ever intended to let physical therapists insert acupuncture needles into their patients.

If you’re already an AAC member, please make a special donation today and help support our efforts to enforce Colorado law! Many of you have already been generous in your donations and we thank you for your contributions.

Donate Now

If you’re not a member, please join the AAC today and stand with us in this important effort that will be closely watched across the United States. We are only as strong as the support we receive from our members and friends.

Procuring Substances for Injection Therapy: Following the passage of our injection therapy bill last spring we had many meetings with DORA about making the necessary rules. DORA did prepare and sign into effect a list of allowed injectable substances, rules for training and changes to the pharmacy practice act that were intended to enable us to purchase injectable substances again. Details can be found in the January 2016 newsletter archived under the News/Classes tab of acucol.com. Unfortunately, according to federal law many injectables considered compounded require a patient-specific prescription, and this is still hindering our ability to procure substances. We may need to pass a bill next session to get prescriptive authority just for these substances. We have met with the lobbyist from the Colorado Medical Society, but will need to present proposed language to their Scope of Practice committee in May. Also, Lorraine Lucero has recently replaced Leanne Duffy as the Acupuncture Program Director at DORA. Our legislative committee will continue researching a possible bill giving us prescriptive authority with the goal of resolving our issues in procuring substances for Injection Therapy. We will continue to keep you apprised of our progress on this subject. Please “Like” the Acupuncture Association of Colorado’s Facebook page, click on “Follow” and turn on notifications by hovering over the “Following” button until a drop down menu appears and select Notifications “All On”.

American Society of Acupuncturists: Vice President Mark Van Otterloo and I represented the AAC membership at the annual ASA meeting last month in Philadelphia, PA. The meeting was very productive and we were able to collaborate with other national entities including the NCCAOM, CCAOM, and ACAOM. The ASA continues to have a representative on the CPT code committee and is tracking items that impact Acupuncturists. As an AAC member  you are automatically a member of the ASA. One of the many benefits of this is that you have free access to the peer-reviewed Meridians Journal of AOM in the member’s area of the AAC website. The ASA is proving to be a valuable asset to our organization and it is representing us well at a national and even global level. We hope you see the value in it, too. In light of this, with your approval we will raise membership dues slightly next year to account for our ASA membership, the cost of which is based in part on how many members we have. Because our relationship with the ASA is a non-competing model, the increase will be a very small amount compared to joining a separate national organization ($5-$10 instead of $100). Please visit their new website at www.asacu.com to see the many resources available and read their second annual report.

Just one great benefit of our ASA membership is that you can read issues of the peer-reviewed, Medline-compliant Meridians: The Journal of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for free in the member area of our website. Once you are logged in to acucol.com, go to the dropdown menu under Acupuncturists to Members and a dropdown menu will appear on the right, with Meridians Journal at the bottom. The Spring 2017 issue is now available!

Thank you for your membership. There is strength in numbers and although there are roughly 1300 licensed acupuncturists in Colorado, only about 20 percent are AAC members. Our volunteer organization works on behalf of ALL acupuncturists and is hindered by lack of funds caused by low membership, so it is important to let our colleagues know we need them to join us in order to enable us to keep working with DORA and the legislature, and to educate the public about the benefits of choosing a trained, qualified acupuncturist.

Kimberley Benjamin, L.Ac., Dipl. OM
President, AAC Board of Directors
President@acucol.com
(970) 214-6683

The AAC Needs You: Serve on the AAC Board
Elections are on April 22nd!

The AAC Board of Directors is looking for a few good volunteers to round out our dedicated board team. Our board does the important work of keeping the organization running and working for all acupuncturists across the state. We are supported by a part-time office manager as well as bookkeepers/accountants and we retain a lobbyist for legislative issues, but the direction of the organization and all decisions are made by the volunteer board composed of acupuncturists like you. Board members must be current members and are elected by the membership to serve for a term of three years. We meet once or twice per quarter and alternate meetings between Denver and Boulder.

Why is it important to take a turn serving on the board? Here are just a few reasons:

The board is dedicated to protecting and furthering the safety and reputation of Acupuncture for the benefit of practitioners and patients, as currently evidenced by our recent pursuit of a petition to the Physical Therapy Board.

Without our organization acupuncturists may have lost the right to be licensed in Colorado. Thanks to our membership and board, led by then Legislative Chair Anne Chew, we were able to work with a lobbyist to get our Practice Act Sunset Review passed in 2012. If we had become de-regulated it would have been a huge step backward for our profession as we would no longer be licensed in Colorado and could not obtain malpractice insurance or bill health insurance companies.

We have much more work to do in supporting practitioners and educating the public and prospective patients. We need more person power to coordinate participation in health fairs and other public relations opportunities.

What are the benefits to serving on the board?

Feel good knowing you are contributing to furthering your profession while having fun getting to know and working alongside fellow acupuncturists.

Be “in the know” and have your finger on the pulse of the current issues facing our profession on the state and national level.

Get free registration to the annual AAC conference (including the 14 CEUs) as well as any class that is sponsored by the AAC.

Receive PDA credits toward NCCAOM recertification for serving your profession when your term is complete.

Learn from and receive referrals from fellow board members.

Elections for new board members will be held at the AAC annual meeting during lunch at our conference on Saturday, April 22nd. You need not be registered or present at the conference to run for the board. If you are interested please contact President Kimberley Benjamin at President@acucol.com or (970) 214-6683.

Get Your "Acupuncture Over Opioids" Stickers!

We know that acupuncture is a powerful tool to treat chronic pain and address the current painkiller epidemic. At the AAC Conference next weekend for a donation to the AAC Legal Fund you can get one or more "Acupuncture Over Opioids" UV-resistant stickers to spread the word about our medicine. Look for the stickers at the registration table!

AAC Membership There are options to becoming a member of the AAC. You can make a once yearly payment or use our automatic monthly payment option. Join us now! Become a Member If you have any questions, please feel free to call Charissa Haines at the AAC Office at (303) 572-8744  or email at info@acucol.com

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